musings from a former professor - what would be useful for social science PhDs looking outside of academia for their future?
I've been thinking a lot lately about careers and life paths for social science PhDs, especially people who've spent time in programs like my own. Most PhDs know that their chances of making it to a tenure-track position are low. Fewer PhDs realize that this prize isn't worth winning, relative to their other options. The AP deal was great two generations ago, pretty good one generation ago, and now? It sucks for all but a handful of researchers. The juice isn't worth the squeeze. I'm not only talking about compensation. In 2024, your scope to do honest research is actually greater outside of a tenure-track social science position imo. That's thanks to the dead hand of the journal system on one side of the scales, combined with how cheap it's gotten to do research using a laptop, where you can distribute your work freely online. If you're a 3rd year+ PhD, graduate, post-doc, or AP: are you evaluating your non-academic options? Are there things that hold you back, or questions you'd want answered? I feel like I'm well-positioned to say and do something to help, since I left tenure-track academia to start my own company. Watch this space!